How a centralized document management system supports seamless member service and business continuity
The majority of credit union teams would agree that if there’s anything positive the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it’s that preparing for the “what ifs” in business operations is not only smart, it is absolutely essential. Preparing for the unexpected, whether it’s a public health crisis like the pandemic, a disruption to personnel such as illness, a vacation or a sudden departure, a fire, a flood, or a natural disaster, is the smart thing to do—especially since events like this can have a negative impact on a credit union member experience. But how can you do it efficiently and cost effectively?
You may not have thought about it before, but the right document management system can help support seamless staffing and business continuity for your credit union. Here’s an overview of how to implement this type of document management strategy to benefit your credit union:
The right document storage and management solution can be customized to your credit union’s workflow. While there are many solutions on the market, it is important to select a comprehensive one that will fulfil all of your credit union’s needs for secure document storage as well as customizable workflow that integrates with your existing workflow.
A comprehensive document storage and management solution such as SmartVault can do this and more, allowing your credit union to create its own standardized, cloud-based folder structure within the system—providing a fully customized, cloud-based vault for documents—allowing work such as loan processing to continue with no disruption because all employees have access to the required documents in real-time.
A centralized document storage and management solution enables seamless member service and workflow efficiencies. Implementing this type of system means that each credit union member can be served by any employee, at any location, who has been given access to the platform. In addition, because the folder structure is fully customizable, it can be standardized to your credit union’s workflow and file-naming conventions so that all team members easily can pick up a loan application or other work process with no confusion or lag in processing time occurring.
Another plus of implementing a centralized document storage and management system is that your credit union can benefit from enhanced workflow efficiencies including e-signature capabilities which expedite loan processing and improve the member service experience. Also, employees can work remotely in a fully cloud-based document management environment that supports NCUA information security guidelines.
Security and compliance concerns are a thing of the past. Employees can also save files directly to this type of platform from their email ensuring they are stored securely as well as being able to share files securely with third-parties such as audit firms, title companies and credit union members, furthering the efficiency of your credit union’s workflow when using a centralized document storage and management solution.
Take action to give your credit union’s internal and external stakeholders peace of mind! Can your credit union manage staffing and operational disruptions effectively? If your credit union can’t answer yes to this question, it’s definitely time to take action and start putting together plans you need to prepare for key operational areas such as staffing and remote access to key documents which are essential for your credit union to operate.
Tackling these areas of business continuity planning will produce a solid foundation for your credit union to withstand the next public health crisis (and put you in a better position to handle this one) and other potential disruptions to your ability to effectively and efficiently serve members. In addition, leveraging the benefits of a centralized, cloud-based document storage and management system is a smart move that will provide peace of mind for all of your credit union stakeholders—which certainly provides immense value given our current business climate!
